Psychometric properties of the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 in a heterogeneous sample of adult cancer patients

Abstract

The Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) is a self-reporting screening instrument that is widely used to assess global psychological distress and three kinds of symptoms: anxiety, depression, and somatization. The present study tests the factor structure of the BSI-18 using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), its reliability, convergent validity, and invariance for both sexes. A heterogeneous sample of 1183 cancer patients completed the BSI 18 and the NCCN Problem List. Hierarchical models of three and four subscales with GSI as a main factor provided an adequate and similar model fit. Nonetheless, the hierarchical three-factor model (the theoretical proposal) was selected for methodological and theoretical reasons. Reliability indexes (Cronbach's alpha and Composite Reliability) were satisfactory. The positive significant associations between BSI-18 (GSI and subscales) and emotional and physical categories of the Problem List showed the suitable convergent validity of the instrument. Finally, multigroup CFA revealed an essentially invariant structure of the BSI-18 for both sexes. The BSI-18 is a short instrument that can be used by researchers and health professionals to assess the psychological distress of cancer survivors. Propiedades psicométricas del Inventario Breve de Síntomas-18 en una muestra heterogénea de pacientes de cáncer adultoResumen El Inventario Breve de Síntomas-18 (BSI-18) es un instrumento de cribado ampliamente utilizado para evaluar distrés emocional (GSI) y tres tipos de síntomas: ansiedad, depresión, y somatización. Este trabajo estudia la estructura factorial del BSI-18, utilizando análisis factorial confirmatorio (AFC), su fiabilidad y validez convergente, así como su invarianza factorial a través del sexo. Una muestra de 1183 pacientes de cáncer completó el BSI 18 y la lista de problemas de la NCCN. Los modelos jerárquicos de tres y cuatro factores proporcionaron ajustes adecuados y similares. Sin embargo, el modelo de tres factores (propuesta teórica) fue seleccionado por razones metodológicas y teóricas. Los índices de fiabilidad (alfa de Cronbach y fiabilidad compuesta)

Impact of hormone therapy side effects on health-related quality of life, distress, and well-being of breast cancer survivors

“…Moreover, the BSI-18 allows cases of clinical distress to be identified using normative data proposed by Derogatis 50 : the scores are transformed into T-scores (T ≥ 63 in the GSI or in at least two subscales). The Spanish version of the BSI-18 has shown satisfactory psychometric properties in the cancer population 51 , 52 . In the present study, the BSI-18 showed satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.93); although it was used exclusively to determine the number of cases with clinically significant distress.…”

Adaptation and validation of a patient‐reported compassion measure in the Spanish population: The Spanish version of the Sinclair Compassion Questionnaire (SCQesp)

“…Brief Symptoms Inventory-18 (BSI-18) (Derogatis, 2001; Spanish version by Derogatis, 2013): BSI-18 is a self-report instrument comprising 18 items rated on a five-point Likert scale that assesses three clinically relevant psychological symptoms (anxiety, depression, and somatization) and provides an indicator for the overall level of psychological distress, which is known as the Global Severity Index (GSI). Furthermore, the BSI-18 includes normative data on cancer populations (Martínez et al, 2019) and allows "caseness" to be identified based on a criterion proposed by Derogatis (2001). Cancer Survivors' Unmet Needs (CaSUN) (Hodgkinson et al, 2007):…”

Adaptación y validación peruana del Cuestionario de Salud General (GHQ-12) en trabajadores de salud

“…Para un buen ajuste se esperan valores de (x²)/gl > 2, que se considera un excelente ajuste, mientras que unos resultados entre 2 y 5 se consideran un ajuste razonable (23). Para CFI y NNFI ≥ 0,90 y a partir de 0,95 son ajustes excelentes, mientras que RMSEA < 0,06 son óptimos y < 0,08 aceptables (24), asimismo SRMR < 0,05. La consistencia interna se evaluó con el coeficiente omega de McDonald.…”